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WHITE HOUSE— With the death toll in Syria's civil war now at 93,000 by United Nations estimates, the White House says President Obama continues to "closely" evaluate options available to him.

While the president and White House officials continue to stress that all options on Syria are being weighed carefully, Obama has never ruled out military force of some kind, whether unilateral or multilateral, but he has said he does not envision sending U.S. ground troops into Syria.

All this week, the White House has said little publicly about media reports of high-level meetings or reports quoting officials saying a decision on providing weapons to Syrian rebels was near.

As forces supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gain momentum in recent advances on the battlefield, the Obama administration is reviewing potential military options, including arming some Syrian rebel factions. VOA correspondent Meredith Buel reports from Washington.

Spokesman Jay Carney, who describes Obama as "greatly concerned" by the "terrible [and] worsening" situation in Syria, says only that meetings are "constantly" under way.

Carney said the president Obama is "very closely" reviewing and considering what other options are available to the U.S., allies and partners.

"Every option that he considers he evaluates, and his team evaluates, based on the long-term view of whether or not implementation of a new policy option will actually bring about the desired result, as opposed to seeming like a good thing to do but not actually changing the situation, or improving the situation and perhaps worsening it instead," Carney said.

Reporters pressed Carney about remarks purportedly made by former Democratic president Bill Clinton during a Capitol Hill event with Republican Senator John McCain.

According to the Politico report, Clinton also contrasted Obama policy on Syria with his decision to intervene in Kosovo, saying a president must look beyond public and congressional reluctance and set aside public opinion polls.

Carney said Obama is "very aware of past precedent" and welcomes a range of input from anyone in and outside of government, but added that Obama is carefully assessing options.

"Having not seen the full extent of President Clinton's remarks, I think that those are all valid points," said Carney. "Having said that, President Obama assesses this specific situation, which can be analogous, but not perfectly so, to the past and judges what is in best interests of the United States today, and what policy options present the best opportunity for achieving our ultimate goal."

In his remarks, former president Clinton was also quoted as referring to gains by the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, with help from Russia, Iran and Hezbollah.

White House press secretary Carney said planning for a possible Syria peace conference continues, and that Syria will be a topic of conversation at the upcoming G8 Summit in Northern Ireland.

Afghan officials and human rights organizations assert that Pakistani authorities are using deadly attack at school in Peshawar as pretext to push out Afghan refugees More

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by: ZT from: US

June 14, 2013 10:17 PM

Why was he not "very closely evaluation" over the last two years ?

What happened to all the "Presidential Daily Briefings (PDB)" ?Were the PDB's all titled " Assad's days are numbered" ?!

by: Igor from: Russia

June 13, 2013 11:17 PM

Obama is "very closely" reviewing and considering what other options are available to the U.S., allies and partners not for the sake of Syrian or American people but for the sake of his power, his defense industry, its allies such as israel. And finally he has decided to support terrorist groups in Syria. How irony it is!

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has told his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, that his country could face further consequences to what he called its “already strained economy” if Moscow does not fully comply with a cease-fire in Ukraine. The two met, on Monday, on the sidelines of a U.N. Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, where Kerry outlined human rights violations in Russian-annexed Crimea and eastern Ukraine. VOA State Department correspondent Pam Dockins reports from Geneva.

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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has told his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, that his country could face further consequences to what he called its “already strained economy” if Moscow does not fully comply with a cease-fire in Ukraine. The two met, on Monday, on the sidelines of a U.N. Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, where Kerry outlined human rights violations in Russian-annexed Crimea and eastern Ukraine. VOA State Department correspondent Pam Dockins reports from Geneva.

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